My Muse
by Gaya3N
Summary: AU Calzona: Callie is a political aspirant. Arizona is a writer in search of her muse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story has been plaguing me for sometime, so I finally decided to write it down.  
****Since I have no idea about how the publishing industry really works, or about the US government election procedures, there are bound to be glaring mistakes in the story. I would ask you to give me the creative license to play around. Also I do not subscribe to either of the political parties mentioned in the story, so no one should be worried that this is propagandist in nature. Also this is un-beta-ed so all grammatical mistakes would be mine.**

**Disclaimer****: All characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

**Happy Reading!**

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Arizona Robbins continued to stare at the blinking cursor on her screen. Her eyes willed the blank page to produce words. Her fingers ghosted over the keyboard, from Q to P then over A to L and finally over Z to M. But some unknown power held her back from actually pressing down a key and thereby disturbing the blank beauty of the page before her. The continuously blinking cursor gave her a headache and so she slumped further in her chair and began rubbing her temples. Her eyes shifted from the laptop screen to the hourglass on the table. Yet another hour was slipping to an end. With a frustrated sigh, she leaned over and tipped it to a horizontal position. Satisfied she sat back, this time a little straighter. Giving her shoulders a shake and cracking her neck she dropped both hands over the keyboard. She waited, a minute, five minutes, ten minutes; she waited for the words to come to her.

Callie Torres was only half listening to the man speaking on stage. She was staring at the Party banner hanging right over the stage. She rubbed her eyes in exhaustion and the act caused her to see the elephant on the banner in 3D. She smiled the first genuine smile in three hours. She suddenly started thinking about Horton, the elephant. The one who tried to hatch an egg. Horton did indeed stand for strength, honour, stability and patience. Hadn't she read somewhere that Elephants stood for good luck? And what was it about the white elephant? Before she could complete the thought, she felt a nudge and she looked back towards the stage to see her father ascend it. She sat up straighter as she clapped enthusiastically.

Yes paper! Arizona smiled at her own ingenious idea. She unceremoniously slapped her laptop shut and pushed it aside. She then proceeded to take out fresh sheets of paper from the left top drawer and laid it out on the table. She first picked up a normal ball point pen from the stand, but rethinking the decision, she put it back and picked up an ink pen. She spent the next several minutes refilling it. Task done, she wiped her ink stained fingers on a scrap cloth before uncapping the pen and letting her hands hover above the first blank page.

With every passing minute Callie was becoming more and more nervous. She shifted her gaze from her father speaking confidently on stage to the sheet clenched in her hands. Her breathing was becoming faster and she was afraid her heart was beating so fast that it would break her rib cage and jump out. Did that even happen? She should have studied medicine instead of law, she shook her head lightly. She looked around the room and her mind failed to register a single face in the sea of immaculately dressed men and women. Oh God! So many of these people where going to judge her the minute she walked up on that stage. And that would be only the beginning of all the mayhem. She began second guessing herself. Was she ready for such a big leap? Before she could answer her own question she heard her name being called out. She blinked but did not immediately stand up till she felt a strong pair of hands taking hold of her right arm and pulling her up. From her left, Cristina Yang leaned in and whispered "Get over with it already Torres." Callie gulped hard. "No time to get nervous rockstar" Mark Sloan whispered from her other side. "Get up on that stage and give them a slice of what you got." He flashed her a smile that was meant to instil confidence in her. Callie stood up on her feet, and rocked a little unsteadily. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She was a Torres. Of course she could do it! With that she opened her eyes and fixing a smile on her face she began moving towards the stage as some people in the hall began to applaud.

Arizona leapt out of her chair and moved towards the window. For several minutes she stood staring at the empty little playground opposite her building. Even the pavements were relatively empty today. Turning away from the window, she walked around her table twice, observing every little detail in her room, before sighing audibly and walking towards her bookshelf. She randomly picked out a hardback from the second row and flopped down on the comfortable (and expensive) armchair she had bought from Europe a long time back. She aimlessly flipped through the pages before getting irritated and shutting it. How could they expect her to write under the stress of a deadline? Whoever did that? Apparently the kind that paid you big bucks and made you sign a three book contract. Her eyes drifted to the coffee table and on the book with a black and red front cover of her latest book _Wish You Were Here. _She was jolted from her thoughts by her beeping cell phone. Moaning, she shifted and drew it out of her pocket. Yet another message from Teddy Altman, her agent. Without even reading it she deleted it. After a hundred or so messages on the same topic, she could more or less guess the essence of Teddy's latest messages. As soon as she deleted the message another came. Giving in to her curiosity, Arizona read it-

_I know you deleted my last message. And I know you know why I'm messaging. So stop procrastinating and set your pretty blonde head to work. – T _

She switched off her phone before throwing her head back and shouting out in frustration. Coffee! Yes coffee! Coffee and some fresh air was sure to do the trick. She jumped out of the armchair and raced to her bedroom to finally shed her pyjamas and wear something appropriate for the streets.

Callie knew as she stood on the stage beside her father that the people clapping and smiling, were not actually clapping and smiling for her. Rather it was for the old, seasoned politician Carlos Torres and because they choose to believe that the old man had applied some logic behind proposing his eldest daughter's name as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial elections. Callie smiled and waved, and nodded her head as she caught the eyes of some other veterans in the crowd. Her speech had gone off better than expected. She had appeared willing to learn and yet confident, showcased her Torres charm and at the same time infused a little humour (some of which didn't actually work) - on the whole, Callie was feeling good about it all.  
She felt her father's hand on her arm and smiling at her, he nodded towards the mic. Callie smiled as she stepped forward and spoke "After that rousing encouragement and after the very tiring affairs of the afternoon I believe everyone is in mood for some refreshments. I request all of you to proceed towards the outer hall and I would be delighted to avail the opportunity of catching up with some of you personally. Yes Dick, don't runaway" she pointed to a short bald man in the corner of the room and he smiled and nodded his head in acknowledgment. "And Cathleen, you have yet to tell me how exactly your democrat date made a complete fool of himself" Most of the people in the hall, still listening, roared with laughter. As she stepped back from the mic, Carlos patted his daughter "Well done mi'ja" and kissed her. Releasing her father after a quick hug, Callie followed him down the steps and met Cristina and Mark in front of the stage.  
"You only made 6 mistakes during your entire speech" Cristina observed dryly as the three fell in step and began walking towards the large oak doors.  
"You were brilliant Cal" Mark pronounced as he wrapped her in a quick one arm hug. "Now remember to go out there and smile, and oh, don't forget to spend some time with Greene and Ashfield. Yang you are covering Scholes and Wagner. If Wagner tries getting nosy about our campaign strategy just…"  
"start talking about how his wife is banging their gardener?" Yang smirked. "Yep got it Slo."  
Mark simply shook his head. He had more sense than telling Yang what to do and how to do it. She was mighty smart. Even if she hated the fake social niceties that one had to engage in while involved in politics (really what else was there to it anyway?), she was genuinely interested in how she could use the power to do some good and change the system. Plus she was fiercely loyal to Callie and there was no way she would jeopardize her career just because she was in no mood to act nice (which, Mark added to himself, was always the case). So instead he focused on Callie.  
"You handle the old bastards." Callie nodded her head. "Leave the women to me, I'll charm the brains out of them" Mark continued with his patent smirk.  
Callie rolled her eyes before looking at her best friend and now campaign manager "Mark, remember, you are charming them to support me not charming them to sleep with you". With those final words, Callie took a glass of wine from the passing waiter before fixing up her smile and stepping into a chattering group of people.

Arizona walked around aimlessly in her neighbourhood as she alternately sipped her coffee and bit into her tuna sandwich. She nodded and smiled as she passed the faces she knew. Finally she stopped in front of the one shop, which she never crossed without entering- "Arcadia".  
Arizona smiled as she entered the little bookshop. She was particularly proud of this place. It had started off as a useless little place, owned and managed by Alex Karev, a guy who looked more suited for a boxing ring than for a man selling books in a quaint little bookstore. In reality he was a comic-books enthusiast. But under Arizona's persuasion he had expanded the store from a comic book store to a store that sold rare literary works of all kinds. Arizona sometimes just walked in there, sat in a little corner, and leafed through the old books. Sometimes she read the personal messages that were inscribed within and she would imagine the life the original possessor of the book lead. Other times she would sit with Alex and help him catalogue the books or arrange them on the shelves. Most of all she just enjoyed inhaling the scent of old books.  
"Hey Alex" she called out as she sat down on a chair shaped like a hand. "In here" a voice called out from the inner room. As she sipped her coffee, she bent forward and picked up the newspaper that was lying on the low wooden coffee table. Opening the paper, and perusing through the headlines, Arizona realized how out of sync she had been lately. Scanning the page from top to bottom her eyes stopped on a photo of a gorgeous Latina captured as she was coming out of the court. With interest Arizona read the name printed at the bottom of it- Callie Torres.  
"Callie Torres" Arizona said it out aloud, testing the name in her mouth. She tried to figure what felt amiss. Giving it up, she began reading the article.

"_Callie Torres, eldest daughter of Washington Governor Carlos Torres, is rumoured to be bracing herself to step out of her role as assistant attorney general and is touted to fill in her father's shoes as he steps back from active politics in view of his recent health concerns. It is widely expected that at today's party meeting Carlos will be officially presenting his daughter as his alternate. Carlos as it is known…"_ The article went on to talk about Carlos and his term in office and Arizona quickly lost interest. She skipped right to the last paragraph as she caught Callie name again. "_It is to be seen whether the younger Torres will be just a pawn in her father's hand or will actually be able to hold her own." _ Arizona looked at the photograph again. The Latina had a determined look on her face as she was obviously trying to walk away from the press. But she wasn't frowning. In fact Arizona could detect a faint smile on her lips. It just seemed that the Latina had better things to do than hang around and give interviews to a couple of journalists. Arizona didn't doubt Callie could hold her own.  
Arizona was unconsciously smiling as Alex entered the room. "Hey dude, what's got that loopy smile on your face?" He asked as he wiped his hands on his trousers and pulled a box crate towards Arizona's chair and sat down on it.  
"Nothing" Arizona replied easily as she tossed the newspaper away. "I'm blank Karev. I'm stuck. I need inspiration" she stated her problem right ahead.  
Alex gave her a bemused smile "Go get drunk" he stated simply.  
"That's your answer to every problem!" Arizona groaned as she dropped her head into her hands.  
"Because it is truly the only answer to every problem" he continued as he crossed his arms across his chest. "Besides, isn't that what all your Romantic poets did? And the Pre-Raphaelites? Follow the way they show!"  
Arizona looked up to meet his eye. Realizing that he was actually serious, she looked at her watch. "It's not even 4 p.m."  
Alex got up as he replied. "Help me with the store. Then we can down to Jackson's and catch at least what's left of the Superhero Movie Marathon. After that we go get drunk. How does that sound?"  
Arizona smiled, her dimples out on full display. "Does superhero mean V for Vendetta?" Alex shrugged his shoulder "Yeah, I think I saw that on his list"  
"And does getting drunk include you not allowing me to do stupid things and getting me back home before I'm completely wasted?"  
"Don't I always?" Alex drawled.  
"Okay" Arizona said jumping up. "I do the accounts, you do the heavy lifting. Hut-Hut Karev!" She hit him on his bum before scampering away from him in full speed towards the cash counter.

It was almost late evening now, and Callie was tired. She caught Mark's eye across the room. He understood the look on her face and so excused himself from the redhead he was talking to and began walking towards them. Callie's attention was drawn back to what the man was saying when she heard the name "Robin" fall from his lips. She instantly began to focus on what he was saying to her. "…it's still a surprise how no one knows the author's identity. I mean, with all the technological advancements, I thought it had become virtually impossible to protect one's identity. But here is this person, who churns out one bestseller after another and yet no one knows his real identity."  
Robin was Callie's favourite author. And one of the reasons why she loved Robin's writing so much was because of all the mystery surrounding the author's real identity. Personally, she thought, Robin was a woman. But that could be because she felt as if she was the protagonist in each of Robin's books.  
"It's also pretty unusual for someone to shy away from all the fame and adulation." Callie noted. "If I was a bestselling author, so loved by everyone, and with sites and sites of fan fiction dedicated to one's work, I would hardly have been able to keep my identity under wrap. It is difficult to willing walk in the shadows."  
Before the man could answer Mark was by their side and with a convenient lie he was able to pull away Callie from him.  
"Can we leave now? My jaws are hurting with all the smiling" Callie complained as Mark laughed and put his arm around her shoulders.  
"Yeah, yeah. Your dad's also leaving. We can follow." Mark downed the last of his wine.  
"I'm hungry, Mark. I need proper food." Callie told him seriously.  
"Of course you are hungry, you haven't eaten all day. I told you there was no reason to get so nervous. I thought lawyers were supposed to be fearless. Did they just give you your law degree and the office because of your father?" Mark teased her.  
Callie hit him on his arm. "I run the show in the court." Callie said proudly. "I actually studied law. Politics, well that's…"  
She was cut short by Cristina who came up to them, looking as if she was about to explode. "If I have to listen to Middleton talk about his new car, or his darling son for yet another minute, I will throw up" she finished throwing up her hands dramatically.  
Mark laughed as he drew Yang on his other side. "Let's go get something to eat"  
"And then we go get something to drink." Cristina added without missing a beat. "Wine is just expensive water. I need something strong."  
Callie laughed. "Yeah I could do with drinks to bring the day to a close."

What Callie didn't realize then was that "drinks" could also be a start to something entirely new.

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**Now this is where I wait for YOUR response. If you want me to carry on let me know. How does the first chapter sound? Good, bad, i should change this or that, leave it in a review, and make my day :)  
****Also NTP will be updated soon. I just had to get this out of my system first.**

**Lots of love- G :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank You for your wonderful response! Here's the next chapter. I'm afraid it's a bit slow, had to build up character and put in details, but I hope you still like it. Also if there are any mistakes, I take full responsibility for them. Sorry and Happy Reading! :)  
**

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Shonda, I'm simply playing with them.**

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"There you go" said Cristina placing Callie's glass of Armagnac in front of her before sitting down with her glass of Bourbon. "Thanks" Callie said as she picked up her glass, "Where's Mark?" she asked raising her glass to her lips. Cristina pointed to a spot behind Callie, who turned herself in her chair and scanned the small, yet fairly crowded pub, before catching sight of Mark chatting up a blonde by the bar. He leaned close and whispered something in her ear, which judging by the girl's reaction, would have to have had some sexual connotations. Callie shook her head, then catching Mark's eye, waved him over. Turning in her seat, she relaxed and took a sip of her drink.

"Ummm" she hummed appreciatively as she sipped her drink. "I didn't think such a place would stack Armagnac" she said honestly. Cristina just shrugged her shoulders as she continued to drink in silence. Joe's looked like every other local pub from the outside. But inside it was warm and nice, with comfortable furnishing with a pool table, dart boards and foosball table which were all currently occupied. The trio had luckily found a table towards the back of the room, which to Cristina's chagrin was too far away from the bar but to Mark's liking, afforded the entire view of the room. When Callie had suggested after dinner that they go someplace where she wouldn't be hounded by the media, Cristina had suggested the place. Mark almost asked her how she knew about its existence, but then he caught himself. Of course this was Cristina Yang, and of course she knew of every place within 100 miles of Seattle that served or sold alcohol.

"I already love this place!" Mark announced as he joined them at the table. He took a long swig of his drink before grinning and asking "Guess what I'm drinking?"  
Callie eyed the golden brown liquid. She opened her mouth to reply when Cristina intervened "Please don't be stupid enough to say whiskey". Callie laughed.  
"Exactly, this isn't just whiskey" Mark said excitedly. "This is" and then dramatically holding up his glass he said "Cock O' the North" as he waggled his eyebrows. Callie laughed at his childlike behaviour.  
"Was I supposed to laugh?" Cristina dead-panned. "Yang I have two cocks now" Mark said shaking the glass in front of her. Cristina slapped her forehead "I can't believe we have him running our campaign."  
As Cristina and Mark's banter continued Callie smiled at the familiarity of it all. It reminded her of her college days- her manwhore best friend and her perpetually sulking roommate. It warmed her heart to realize that they had stuck with each other and had come so far. Now Cristina was her running mate while Mark was her gubernatorial campaign manager. The only person missing now was her other best friend Addison. As Callie sipped her drink, she checked her cell phone for any new texts from Addison. The last one from her was 20 minutes old. Callie frowned; she should have been here by now.  
"Addison coming?" Mark asked as he stuffed his mouth with a meatball.  
"She said she would" Callie answered as she sent her friend another text asking her where she was.  
"Ah uptown girl must have got lost in the lanes somewhere or she saw the people hanging outside the pub and ran back" Cristina offered as means of explanation. The place did not definitely cater to Addison's usual tastes, but her friend was a bundle of contradictions. While she did appear a class A snob, only those who knew her closely were fortunate to see her other caring, loving side. Callie also knew that the red head had enough spunk to hold her fort anywhere.

Callie didn't correct Cristina; instead she focused on the door as she saw it being swung open. She had expected Addison, but it was a man who walked in. And almost as she averted her eyes, she caught sight of a beautiful blonde enter behind him. Callie's eyes were stuck on the laughing blonde as she and the three others that she had come with settled into a newly vacated table, upfront and close to the bar. They seemed to be regular patrons, because as soon as the blonde sat down she waved her hands and shouted out something to the bartender who bellowed with laughter before answering and moving further down the bar. Callie twisted her chair surreptitiously, so that now the blonde was seated in Callie's direct line of vision. She didn't know what it was about the blonde, whether it was the bouncing golden curls or the heart-breaking dimpled smile or the twinkling blue eyes, whatever it was, it had captivated Callie and as she sipped her drink she couldn't keep her eyes off her. Callie was only vaguely aware of the conversation at her table. And she was so caught up checking out the way the blonde's grey button-neck top was clinging on to her form that she didn't immediately notice the swaggering red head until she was directly in front of her and shouting her name.

"Soooo proud of you girl" Addison slurred as she enveloped Callie in a warm hug before releasing her and giving a quick peck on Mark's cheek before finally dropping down into the last available chair on the table for four. "Wow, Red's already buzzed!" Cristina observed to which Addison just rolled her eyes. Cristina and Addison didn't hate each other. They simply had an unusual friendship where they didn't believe in exchanging unnecessary words. So Addison simply ignored her comment and smiled at Callie, but before she could say anything, Callie asked solemnly "Did you drive here?" Addison just nodded her head. "You were drunk. And you drove. Addison, that's that's so…" Callie was getting angry. How could her friend be so irresponsible?  
"Usual." Addison replied haughtily. "And I'm not drunk. I just had a drink. A single drink. I needed it." Suddenly Addison's face was clouded by pain. She looked away from Callie and at the table instead. "Speaking of which, I need a drink now. What are you guys drinking?" she spoke up with forced excitement.  
"I'm going to get a refill, what do you need?" Cristina asked as she stood up. "Whatever you're drinking" Addison replied after her disappearing form.  
"Another fight with Derek?" Callie asked softly. She knew Addison hated talking about the rough patch her marriage was going through, but that didn't mean Callie wouldn't try offering her help.  
Addison flipped back her hair as she answered "Nothing new." Mark frowned as he said "Doesn't mean you get to drive around drunken Addie"  
Addison let out a high pitched laugh ""I'm Addison Forbes-Montgomery. I'll do what I want" she snapped back at him. In his surprise Mark shut up for a moment, before finding his words again. "No you are not. You are Addison Shepherd. And your husband happens to be my friend. And I don't want to be the one to tell him he became a widower."  
"He doesn't care" she said softly. Cristina returned with a tray of tequila shots for all and two glasses of vodka with cranberry juice. She handed one to Addison who murmured a thank you before gulping down the liquid in a single go. "Wow" Cristina said as she looked from Addison to Mark then Callie. At her questioning look, Callie mouthed the words "Derek". Cristina nodded her head in understanding before silently proceeding to drink from her glass. Callie squeezed Addison's hand and offered her a smile which was only tentatively returned. But then Mark started talking about his drink and Callie turned her head back to look around the room.

Her face fell a little as she caught the blonde she was eying previously wrapped up in a hug from the shorter of the two men. The other man, a tall black guy was standing up and talking animatedly while the fourth was a young brunette who was roaring with laughter. Then the blonde said something and the guy immediately shut up and the brunette rose to her tip toe and kissed him, pulling him down to sit in the process. The other guy placed a sound kiss on the side of blonde's head and punched the other guy on his shoulder. The blonde then leaned forward and said something to the man and smiled, her dimples out in full display. Callie's heart constricted at the sight. It was obvious that they were two couples. She didn't know what she planned to do even if the blonde was single, but now it just meant that there simply would never arise an opportunity. Plus, it wasn't like she was publically out. And with the campaign kicking off she would have time for nothing else. But still, Callie didn't know what it was about the blonde that had instantly attracted Callie. She finally peeled her eyes away when she felt Addison prodding her with an elbow.

"I asked how long you are going to keep avoiding the media. Aren't you used to it by now?" Addison said as she saw the confused look on Callie's face. "And whom are you checking out?" Addison peered over Callie's shoulder. Callie shook her head slowly. Her father had now occupied the office of the Governor for two consecutive terms, but even before that because of his huge success with the Torres Group of Hotels, the Torres family had always been in news. But that did not mean Callie liked any of it. "I'm not avoiding them" Callie said weakly.  
"That table of four over there" Cristina pointed out for Addison. "Not the men, not Cal's type" Addison said. "Ah, the…" Addison flashed a wicked grin as she looked at Callie. "The blonde" Cristina completed her sentence and the two hi-fived. "But she's taken" Mark stated. "Doesn't mean you can't try Cal" he grinned lasciviously. Callie took one last look at the laughing blonde before turning her head with a sigh. "She's straight" she stated sadly. "Only till she's not" Cristina added with a wink. "Yeah, and you're gonna be the next governor, I'm sure she wants to be able to tell her future grandchildren, I slept with the governor once" Addison giggled as she gulped a shot. That's exactly the kind of thing Callie hated. She had met a fair number of people who pretended to like her because of her family's wealth and her father's position. She wanted someone to like her for who she is. But that was easier said than done.  
"That's exactly why I'm not gonna do anything about it" Callie said simply as she picked up a shot of tequila. "Not gonna give the shutterbugs unnecessary reason to focus on my private life rather than my political agenda" she said sincerely, but as she gulped down her drink and put down the glass she was met with curious stares from her friend. Mark thumped her shoulder "Proud of you Torres" he said before looking around the table urging the other two to say something. "Boring" Cristina pronounced. Addison nodded her head in agreement. "You are just chickening out. And it's not like we are asking you to ask her out on a date, just go talk to her. Get the infatuation out of the system Cal, don't have regrets" Addison gave her sagely advice.  
"I'm not…not..what…I was just" Callie spluttered. "You are still hung up on George. Or does it go all the way back to Erica?" Addison looked her straight in the eye. Erica Hahn had been the first girl Callie had dated, back when she was in college. But after college, Erica moved across to Europe without a single goodbye to Callie, and just like that they had broken up. Eventually Callie moved through a lot of guys and (secretly through some girls) before tying the knot with George O'Malley, a bright management graduate from Stanford and whom Callie's father had hoped to groom as the heir to his hotels. But he couldn't stand the constant intrusions into his marriage from the Torres family, and his own insecurities gave way to him cheating on his wife and finally Callie divorced him. And now he was a happily married man in New York while Callie never really regained any hope in dating, much less in love.  
Not having an answer to the questions, and not really wanting to relive painful memories if the conversation kept going the way it was, Callie just snorted a "whatever" before downing a last shot and getting up. "I need to use the restroom" she said, and with that she picked up her clutch and turned away from the table. While moving towards the restroom door she couldn't keep herself, from looking over at the blonde and her friends.

"Because you cheated" Lexie said, calling out Jackson's bluff. Alex guffawed. "Aw man, not even your girlfriend supports you" he teased Jackson who just gave a flabbergasted look. "Lex!" he protested, but he was cut off by Arizona "And besides it was a computer game, I don't think you'd last more than 10 minutes on the actual field Avery". He puffed up his chest and opened his mouth to defend himself when Alex chimed in "I give him 5 minutes max. He bailed at the water gun competition in the comic con this year". Arizona simply laughed as Jackson lunged forward and punched Alex's shoulder. Jackson Avery was a computer whiz kid, who worked as a gaming designer. And always beat anyone he played against on the X-Box in his and karev's apartment. "You just can't digest losing Zo" he said to the blonde, who just stuck out her tongue in response. "Which is also true" Lexie endorsed the fact. Lexie was Jackson's on and off girlfriend, and Arizona's next door neighbour. Arizona mock-glared at Lexie before drowning her fourth glass of alcohol for the evening, jumping off her stool and announcing "I need to use the restroom". Alex called back at her retreating form "You are bailing" and it was followed by peals of laughter from the other two. Arizona just gave them a brief "whatever"-look before racing towards the restroom.

But no sooner had she pushed open the door and stepped in than she collided with the person on the other side of the door. The impact caused Arizona's head to hit against the side of the doorframe and she yelped out in pain just seconds before a string of profanities were heard from the person, now currently sitting on the floor. Arizona slowly rubbed the side of her head, and began apologizing but shut up at the sight of the person on the floor. It was the Latina whose photo she had seen in the newspaper today. She was wearing a black cowl neck top and a beige coloured pencil skirt that stopped just below her knee. But the way she was sitting on the ground, holding her ankle, and with her face angled up towards Arizona, she reminded Arizona of the portraits of Cleopatra that she had seen. Realizing that she had been simply staring, she held out her hand and whispered an apology. "Are you hurt?" she asked. The Latina didn't answer immediately, but looked away from her. After a moment came the sheepish reply "I think my heels broke." Arizona looked again to notice that she wasn't holding her ankle, but her broken silver heels. But while Arizona was focusing on the heels, Callie placed her hand in Arizona's and instantly Arizona became aware of the tingling sensation starting from her the tip of her fingers, as they curled around the Latina's arm to get a better hold, up her arm and finally coursing through her entire body as she helped up the other woman. In the process, Arizona's other hand had found their place around Callie's waist. As she stood up on her wobbly feet, the taller woman placed her free hand on the blonde's shoulder and steadied herself. Finally, as their eyes met, Arizona drew in a deep breath.

If she thought the woman in the photograph looked beautiful, she had to admit that up close, the woman looked nothing short of phenomenally breath-taking. The way the raven curls framed her face, Arizona instantly knew that Raphael would have immortalized her in his paintings. But it were her eyes, her eyes that captivated Arizona- they were luscious eyes, dark and inviting, yet private and elusive. Before she could stop herself she heard her own voice fill up the restroom- "The pages and the words are my world, spread out before your eyes and for your hand to touch. Tell me you see me."

She saw Callie's eyes comprehend the lines but then almost instantly they clouded in confusion. "Sorry?" she asked meekly. Arizona realized what she had just said, and she as quickly as possible, withdrew her hands. Having established a distance between them Arizona quickly bent down to pick up the contents which had fallen out of Callie's clutch bag while Callie pondered what best to do with her one broken heel. Arizona stood up finally holding Callie's clutch in one hand and in her other she held Callie's driving license. "Calliope Iphigenia Torres" Arizona breathed the name in a whisper, like saying it out loud would spoil the beauty of it.

"Yes, that would be me" said Callie holding out her hand for Arizona. Arizona just gave her a dreamy look as she looked at the proffered hand and then up at her face. Callie gave her a curious smile before taking her things from Arizona and fastening her clutch. "I'm Arizona" she managed finally holding out a hand for her. Callie smiled brightly and took her hand. "Not the best way to meet huh?" Callie asked laughing; only Arizona didn't know how much nervous energy that that laugh hid. Arizona bobbed her head up and down enthusiastically. Arizona was about to say something, when the Latina suddenly gasped "You're bleeding".

Pulling a confused Arizona towards the sink, Callie placed her clutch on the sink edge and turned on the tap. Arizona checked herself in the mirror. There was a thin stream of blood that had just begun oozing out of a slight cut on her upper right forehead. Callie gently cupped her face and washed the wound with water. Even as the water trickled down her face, Arizona refused to close her eyes. She didn't want to waste a single moment of being able to watch this wonderful woman. Finally taking out a paper swipe from her clutch bag, Callie held it over the cut. "Should I take you to a doctor?" she asked with concern.

Arizona was acutely aware of their proximity. She observed how Callie's lips moved in a synchronous harmony and the melody the words coming out of her mouth produced and instantly Arizona had a million lines about them being written in her head. As the lines and thoughts inside her head merged and a fog descended upon her head, Arizona, without really thinking her actions through, leaned forward and captured the Latina's lips with her own. And in that moment Arizona saw the fog clear and sun shine brightly through, and the feel of the soft lips against her was like the feeling of the parched, summer survived leaves as they experience the first raindrops touch upon their surface, fizzle as the cold hits against the hot and then evaporates. How can there be sun and rain? She wondered briefly, but as soon as she felt a touch on her hip, she immediately stiffened. Like lightning had stuck her, Arizona pulled back. The kiss must only have lasted for seconds, and Callie's eyes were closed when Arizona stepped back and looked at the beauty before her. Perhaps it was a good thing that her eyes were closed, because otherwise, Arizona wouldn't have found the will power to walk away. One last look at the Latina leaning back against the sink, her eyes only fluttering open, Arizona turned on her heels and ran out of the restroom.

It wasn't morning yet, when Arizona jolted up in bed. She was still fully clothed. She looked around her room, half expecting the woman who had only moments before been in her dreams to materialize before her. Running her hand through her mess of a hair, Arizona got up from her bed. As she walked into her study, she checked her watch- 4:30 a.m. On the way, she took a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Drinking the water, she waited for her laptop to boot. After minutes, the blank word document was finally open before her on the screen. Suddenly she knew exactly what she wanted to write. Running her fingers lightly over every key across the keyboard, Arizona whispered the word "Calliope" and with that she began writing-

_Strange fits of Passion have I known…_

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**And NOW would be when you tell me if i'v managed to pull through, or sunk under the weight of expectations. **  
**I haven't yet gotten into a pattern as to when to work on this fic and when to complete the next few chapters for NTP. But I promise to get into a steady rhythm soon. And your reviews are a great help to stay on track (get the hint? Am I being to subtle? I don't intend to! :P )**

**Till the next time, Lots of love- G :)**


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